To read this journey from the beginning, go to the first post.
Hi there, Mrs. 1500 today to tell you all about how I did, in fact, NOT die running a 5K this weekend.
Which is definitely NOT how I felt while actually running it. It’s called the ColderBoulder (which I forgot to mention last week) and it was COLD when we started running. It was COLD when we finished, too.
I “ran” the Berkshire Hathaway Invest in Yourself 5K and came in at 42:40. With no training, on a fairly flat course in Omaha which is sea level.
I came in at 43:15 in the ColderBoulder, with training, on a fairly flat course in Boulder, CO which is decidedly NOT sea level. I had slept poorly the night before the race, but let’s be honest. Being completely out of shape and 50 pounds overweight has something to do with it, too.
Still, I finished, and I kind of had a feeling I wasn’t going to be setting any land speed records during this run.
And just for fun, there’s a free 3.5 mile run this weekend, which we’re going to be doing, too. Yay.
The Workouts
I’m continuing to do the Couch to 10k workouts, but boy do they overestimate my ability to snap back into shape. We went from 60 second runs with 90 seconds in between, to 5 minute runs, 8 minute runs and even a 20 minute run this week.
Running for a solid 20 minutes is not something I’m good at. I’m getting 1% better every week, I’m sure…
The Eating Part
I’ve been trying Intermittent Fasting, which is a concept where you condense your eating schedule down, so that for most of the day you are not consuming calories and your body is not concentrating on digesting them, which frees it up to do other things. I started off by pushing breakfast back until 9 am, then 10 am, and now can frequently stave off hunger until noon.
Supposedly, you can eat all you want while doing this, but I’m not trying that theory. I can eat a LOT.
I find this isn’t very difficult after the first few days. Baby-stepping up to noon brought me success.
But as you can see, it did not bring weight loss with it. I’ve been doing this for 5 weeks, feeling fairly good about what I’ve been eating, and still no weight loss.
Yes, I’ve had my birthday, the littlest 1500’s birthday, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Mr. 1500′ birthday all happen during these last 5 weeks. But it’s frustrating and discouraging to continue seeing the same numbers on the scale.
If I don’t see significant changes soon, I’m going to seek out a nutritionist to see if I’m somehow doing all the wrong things.
Thank You
Thank you for all the encouragement, it is very helpful to read these notes that tell me I can do it. Some days, this really sucks.
The Stats
- Weight: 178.6 (down 2.0 overall)
- Workouts Complete: 20
- Workouts Enjoyed: 0
Join the 10s who have signed up already!
Subscribing will improve your life in incredible ways*.
*Only if your life is pretty bad to begin with.
Woo-hoo, way to go! Congrats!
Keep up the good work, and keep in mind positive changes won’t always show up on the scale. It wouldn’t surprise me if you are gaining muscle due to your running, Therefore your weight may not be changing much but you may be losing fat itself. Novices to exercise can build muscle while in a calorie deficit for some time. TLDR: More muscle, less fat == Same weight on the scale.
Take a photo of yourself in the mirror weekly, or do tape measurements at key points (waist, thighs, etc…) weekly to truly be able to judge progress. You might find your waist is slimming even though the weight on the scale hasn’t changed.
As an example: I now weigh 195 lbs (5′ 11″ male). Before I got into shape, when I weighed 195 I had a 38-40 inch waist. Now at the same weight I have a 33-34 inch waist.
Weight doesn’t always tell the tale!
Mike- as a lady, it always seems that I lose weight in the non-desirable to lose places, and gain back in the non-desirable to gain back. Why can’t it be the other way? (Gain in the bewbs, and lose in the stomach/hips/thighs?)
Yeah, I’m not feeling like I’m seeing results that way, either.
I hear ya. I trained for a half marathon when I was 31 or so and out of shape. It was towards the end of my training, running approximately 25 miles per week, before the weight on the scale actually moved for me. That was back when I was ’38-40 inch waist Mike’.
I think what really helped me was weight training. I started at about 32 years old. Now I’m strong, fairly slim, and feel better than I ever have (at 37yo). Once your meet your half marathon goal you might mix in some weight training if you’re still unsatisfied with your weight/appearance.
Also, the longer you keep up exercising and dieting, in any fashion, the more you learn about what works for you and what doesn’t. This stuff takes time.
Congrats Mrs 1500! I remember being surprised by how fast couch to 5k went from run walk to all run. Remember that it’s just a plan and results may vary. If your body needs an in between step to go from running 60 seconds to running 5 minutes build that into your workouts. Yes it sucks but it’s a wonderful kind of suck. Keep on keeping on!
“It doesn’t get easier, you get stronger.” I can definitely run for a longer amount of time than I previously thought, but it still sucks.
Wow! You finished a race! I can’t run for more than a block. Something to be proud of- especially in the friggen cold. and these stupid races almost always seem to be at the butt crack of dawn. Though, i think those bubble fun runs arent- and they do look pretty fun. Or the zombie run during Halloween, but that’s passed us for now. As for weightloss…a better gauge would be how your clothes fit, and how you feel overall. (plus, like me, your g-damn scale may be broken….right….).
Yeah, why do these races always start so early? (Also, butt-crack of dawn is my favorite saying – I use it all the time!)
The clothes aren’t fitting any better, either. By all measures, there is no movement… UGH.
2nd bonus comment: Mrs. 1500, can you finish your nutritionist sentence (line above “Thank you”). The suspense is killing me! 🙂
Thanks for reminding me. You proofread the post 900 times, then get distracted… UGH.
I’ve been doing the same intermittent fasting schedule and can now regularly go until noon before eating. My stomach regularly tells me it’s hungry at 10:30, but I just ignore it and wait. Congrats on finishing the 5k. Can’t hurt to see a nutritionist – I’m thinking of doing the same if the old A1C doesn’t come down next time.
Woohoo! Loving these updates, congrats on finishing the race! I’m doing IF and also haven’t seen any weight loss, I think it might work better for men (hubbs has lost weight on the same IF plan/food). I’m on week 8 and do 4 workouts per week, sigh. My next experiment will be cutting out sugar… gulp. That’s going to be hard with holidays.
I could eat sugar straight from the bag! I love it so much. But I’m also trying to cut it out, because it isn’t good for me, and the more I have, the more I want.
That Omaha 5K is only flat and at sea level to someone from Colorado it seems. I know I complained to mr pop about the hills on that course more than once! Luckily I will show you what it truly means to have a flat course at sea level. Maybe then you’ll enjoy a run! =)
Mrs PoP recently posted…The Feels – Working Wife of a FIREd Spouse – Part 2
“Enjoy” may be stretching it. I enjoy the “it’s over” part. I welcome a run with you. I bet I can keep up with you now.
Way to go!!!! One reason you’re not losing weight is possibly the fact that your are not eating. When you body goes into starvation mode, it keeps all calories because when the next “famine” hits it will have some energy. I’m not a nutritionist but know that starving yourself does not work. What works best for me is to cut sugar to almost nothing other than natural sugars in fruit. Hint – read labels there’s sugar in everything!!!! Also I cut bread out, if you eat high fibre whole wheat bread then it won’t likely affect weight loss but if you eat white bread, it turns to sugar very quickly this storing it as fat. Hope this helps. You are doing amazing!!!!!
Thank you for the encouragement. It seems like no matter what I eat, the scale stays the same or goes up. I’m certainly not starving myself, just focusing on veggies and protein.
Congrats on the 5K! Running in the cold can really stink. If the Couch to 10K plan isn’t your jam, there are other options. I’ve been doing some version of the Galloway running method for several years where the intervals of running & walking are much more regular. Like my Wednesday morning group does run 30 seconds, walk 30 seconds every single week. My Saturday group does run 45 seconds, walk 30 seconds. If I run by myself and want a challenge, I’ll try run 60 seconds, walk 30 seconds. You end up hating life a LOT less when you know you’re going to walk again soon.
Before my comment, a disclaimer: I have no experience starting off from a point of not being able to run continuously other than helping and watching friends go through the same thing.
With that said, something to think about. If the interval training isn’t working for you the other option is to continuously run for as long as you’re able to maintain a steady pace even if it’s slow. So if you can only run 1 mile before you have to stop, then start with that. Build the distance slowly. When going for a run that is a new max distance, keep the pace easier. When you want to build speed, you go for a shorter distance, but harder pace. Or do intervals as you started off doing.
Me personally, I love running but don’t love stop and go interval training. Maybe it’s the whole “a body in motion tends to stay in motion” thing.
Either way, good luck and keep at it.
When my body is in motion, it is counting the seconds until it can rest. The issue with the app wasn’t the stop start, it was the giant leap from the start stop intervals to all running.
My pace is ridiculously slow. I have a 9-year-old and she can fast-walk as fast as I can run.
When I first got serious about distance running, I had some runs with a pace barely faster than I could walk. I’m still not a fast runner, but my pace has improved a lot. Don’t get too caught up with speed early on. It will come.
Good luck out there.
People often times quit because they are not happy with the progress they are making. What they forget to realize is that slow progress IS STILL PROGRESS! You now have a baseline to improve from and you are now on your way. CONGRATS on the effort. Very proud of you.
Thank you for your kind words, John. I do lose sight of the progress, because it is so slow. This is precisely the same spot I get to every single time, see no results, and give up. Making it public like this at the very least makes me stick to it longer.
Couch to walking, walking to jogging, jogging to running, running to longer running, running to biking, biking to swimming and you are a triathlete. It should take about a year or two. Progress. 🙂
http://www.andyouthoughtthiswasagoodidea.blogspot.com
Great job on finishing a race. That’s a huge step
Couple of thoughts on the weight, etc.
1. Have you measured your body fat? As others have pointed out, if you are losing fat but gaining muscle, then overall you are making progress. A scale that measures body fat isn’t entirely precise, but should be good enough to show if there are changes in your composition.
2. As others have pointed out, going longer without food might not be wise. If you go too long without food, your body slows down its metabolism so as to preserve resources. This means that once you start eating, your body may not burn that food off at the same rate it used to. Plus, if you’re hungrier and end up eating more, you’re going to add calories on top of it. If nothing else, maybe a very small snack at the beginning of the day to start your metabolism, might help.
Money Beagle recently posted…About Clark Griswolds Swimming Pool From Christmas Vacation